Earlier in November Ms Stirling told The Independent the authorities in the UAE "assume women are 'looking for it'".

In the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's travel advice for the UAE it says all sexual relations outside marriage are considered illegal, whatever a couple's relationship at home, alongside homosexual sex and same-sex marriages.

"It's against the law to live together, or to share the same hotel room, with someone of the opposite sex to whom you aren't married or closely related," it advises.

The laws, which can also mean unmarried pregnant women and their partners are jailed, have been used to criminalise rape victims including women from Norway and Australia, and numerous British victims.

The burden of proof required for rape under the UAE's interpretation of sharia law - a confession from the rapist or witness statements from four adult men - means that cases that reach court are heavily skewed in the defendant's favour and are frequently dismissed or turned around to prosecute the alleged victim.

Campaigners say female migrant workers are hit particularly hard by the laws, with their stories rarely attracting the public attention garnered by cases involving Westerners.